£1 mis-strikes make headline news

The new £1 coin made front page news again today after members of the public spotted mis-struck £1 coins in their change.

However, these headlines vastly overstate the scale of the problem.

1.5 billion coins were struck – that’s 30 coins a second – for the new £1 release in March, so it is inevitable that some variances have occurred during the striking process, affecting a small number of coins. But these mis-strikes are not the same as genuine errors.

Here are some of the mis-strikes that have been reported so far:

Found by Sarah O’Donoghue in her change in Birmingham. Image Credit: The Sun

One coin found in Birmingham by Sarah O’Donoghue was thought to have meltedin the middle causing the Bi-Metallic part of the coin to bleed into one another. However, this isn’t actually the case and is in fact likely to be because of a ‘bad’ blank being used leading to this particular mis-strike.

This particular mis-struck £1 coin, and a few others that have been found recently, are undoubtedly numismatic curiosities. It is certainly possible that these coins will fetch a little more than face value in the near future by interested collectors. However, the minting process is never completely exempt from human error, so it is worth checking your change carefully.

“It is very unlikely that there is a serious problem with the new £1 coins. With the large amount of coins that were struck ready for the launch in March, it is inevitable that there will be some variances among a small number of the £1 coins. With the coins causing excitement in the press and more people than ever checking their change, these mis-strikes are cropping up more than usual.” – Ian Glen (Change Checker Managing Director)

The ‘polo’ pound

John Taylor, of Crystal Palace, South London, paid £30 for one missing a centre on eBay. Image Credit: The Sun

There have also been reports of new £1’s missing the middle section of the coin BUT collectors should beware.

As a word of warning to those wanting to get hold of one of these coins, don’t be fooled into spending more than you need to.

It is relatively easy to prize the two parts of metal apart by freezing the coin and using a chisel to knock the middle section out.

Ultimately these mis-strikes are unlikely to make anyone rich, but they are undoubtedly very interesting and would make an exciting addition to any coin collection.

As I mentioned earlier, mis-strikes are not the same as genuine errors. BUT unconfirmed rumours have been circulating about some new £1 coins featuring two dates. Click here to find out more.

I have found a 10p coin with a cannon on it and the words the great siege on in 1773-1783 isd it worth anything ?

Tom Liddleon May 5, 2017 at 8:55 am

What about the coins with a part of the middle missing ?
Also getting off this subject I have bought a silver medal that was given to the staff of R M in1977 for the jubilee,how do I find out if this is true ?
Thank you,
Tom

Yasmin Brittonon May 8, 2017 at 2:10 pm

Hi Tom, I would suggest sending it to They Royal Mint for authentication. Hope this helps. Thanks, Yasmin